The Legend of Zelda: A Different Breath of the Wild
by SuperDupe1000
Summary: A retelling of the adventure in BotW. Mostly based on the game, but with some liberties taken to enhance the world or story. Some game-play elements are also changed, such as the weapons system and memories. Not everything will be rewritten-there will be jumps in the narrative, so not everything Link does will be documented, sometimes only alluded to. I hope you enjoy! R&R!
1. Alpha

Piercing the darkness came a bright, almost blinding light, followed by some sort of noise."..."

What was that? It was a mumble of some sort. What did it say? Was it a name? The blinding light continued to shine, followed by more noise.

"...Open your eyes…"

The light continued to glow, until finally consuming the darkness entirely.

"Open your eyes…" the noise, now clearly someone's voice, commanded.

The light began to fade, giving way to an equally blinding blue light. It didn't stay long, however, as it soon cleared up, revealing some sort of circular machine hanging from the ceiling.

"Open your eyes." The voice said once more. "Wake up, Link." There, in the center of the room in a sort of tub, lay a young boy, no older than 17, maybe 18. His eyes slowly opened as the liquid surrounding him began to drain from the container. He was dressed in nothing more than a pair of under shorts. Once the liquid was gone, he gathered himself and stood up, taking a moment to observe his surroundings. Where was he? Was he 'Link?' He climbed out of the tub and stood in a large room, containing nothing other than the machine he was sleeping in.

He surveyed the room, trying to find anything that may give him a clue as to what is going on. That's when something caught his eye: next to the only door in the room was a pedestal, glowing blue in a fancy pattern. With nothing better to do, he approached the pedestal, which caused it to glow even brighter, as if it was reacting to his presence. The middle of the pedestal then popped out of place, spun 90 degrees, and raised up some sort of...device, if you could call it that.

"That is a Sheikah Slate." The voice echoed once more. "Take it. It will help guide you after your long slumber." Slumber? What's this voice talking about? Link bent down a little and looked at the device. It was shaped like a rectangle with a glowing circle on the back. The design of the 'slate' around the circle made it appear as if it was an eye of some sort. Link was just confused. What was this thing? Why didn't he remember anything?

Following the advice of the voice, Link picked up the slate and held it horizontally. It suddenly popped up the same eye symbol that was on the back, as if it had just turned itself on. He had never seen this device before, and yet...something seemed familiar about it.

With the device now gone, the pedestal fell back into place, which caused the door to open. Immediately, he walked forward, hoping to find someone or something else to help him. Sadly, all that he found were some boxes and two containers. He walked up to the container on the left, furthest from the door he just came out of, and sat in front of it. He has definitely seen this container before. He was positive.

He sat there for a few minutes, trying to muster up the brainpower to figure out what he was supposed to do. After staring at it long enough, he finally realized what it was. The word hit him like a ton of bricks: _chest_. He was looking at a treasure chest. Once it clicked, he immediately opened it, as if he had opened a thousand chests before. Inside was what at first appeared to be rags, but he soon saw that it was a shirt. A really old shirt, to be exact. The sleeves were a bit on the short side, but hey, it was better than nothing.

After sliding the shirt on, he went and, for some reason, kicked the second chest open. He grabbed his foot, feeling a painful sensation he hadn't felt in generations. The chest opened, though, revealing some trousers and a pair of old shoes. They were a bit run down on spots, but he slid them on anyway. Despite being a bit too short, they were surprisingly comfortable.

Now that he was fully clothed, he had to figure out how to get out of the room. It didn't take him long, though, as he approached the other door and found that it also had a pedestal. If the room he came from gave him a slate, maybe this one would take it, allowing him access out of this place. He walked in front of it when the voice interrupted him. "Hold the Sheikah Slate up to the pedestal. That will show you the way." He placed the slate on the pedestal, expecting it to take it, but it instead caused the pedestal to change colors.

"Authenticating…" the pedestal roared. It sounded weird, echoey, and mechanical, but nonetheless, it worked. "Sheikah Slate confirmed." The center of the door, containing the eye symbol, began to glow, and the door soon opened, flooding the room with rays of light, similar to what he saw not too long ago. He walked in front of the light, drowning in its yellow beam. As he felt the warmth on his face, he was suddenly taken out of this place. He was no longer there...

 _He stood in the middle of a lush green field. The grass was almost as tall as he was, and he was chasing after a noble steed that he was given for his 9th birthday. The two were incredibly close, a sight that was very pleasing to his parents. After he hopped on to his horse, he was no longer covered by the grass. He was above it all, and he felt the strong light on his body. The warm, loving light. "Link..." He heard his parents say. "Link..." They uttered once more. Link…_

 _Suddenly,_ Link was returned to his spot, right in front of the door.

"Link…" The voice from before spoke, interrupting his train of thought. He shook his head, running his hands through his air, trying to understand what he just saw, who was talking to him, where he was, all of it. He was so confused.

"You are the light-our light-that must shine upon Hyrule once again. Now...go."

 _Hyrule…_ Link thought. Why did that sound so familiar? So...important? His eyes soon adjusted to the light, allowing him to notice the stairs leading up to a hole that appeared to be the exit. He bolted for the door, excited to get out and experience the light he felt just a moment ago. He quickly scaled the wall in front of him, giving him access to the rest of the stairs. He ran to the light…

Finally, he was out of the place he was in, wherever that was. He ran to the edge of a cliff, overlooking a forest below him and a castle and mountain in the distance. The view was breathtaking. Link actually took a step back in reverence to this sight. He couldn't believe how beautiful it all looked. After taking in the sights for a few minutes, he turned to his right to see a bright yellow light peeking out from behind the mountain range to the east. He stared at it, and his eyes began to hurt. He looked down and rubbed his eyes, wondering what he looked at that would hurt his eyes so bad. Soon, the word came back to him. _Sun._ That was what he was looking at. That was also what provided the light in his train of thought not so long ago.

He missed this sun.

As he surveyed the landscape, he noticed an old man standing not so far down the slope from him. The man turned and walked away, taking residence near a fire under a big rock. Link was relieved to see another living person. _Answers..._ Link thought. He began to make his way over when he accidentally kicked his foot against something. Link bent over and found a tree branch at his feet. Holding it in his right hand just felt so...natural. Almost as if he had done this before.

After a little bit of playing around with the branch, Link made his way to the old man.

"Oho ho! Well met, stranger! It's rather unusual to see another soul in these parts." The old man spouted.

"Who...are...you?" Link tried to ask, but his voice struggled to form the sentence. He was never good with words.

"Me? I'll spare you my life story." The old man replied. "I'm just an old fool who has lived here, alone, for quite some time now. What brings a bright-eyed young man like you to a place like this?"

Link looked around once more, before asking, "Where...are...we?"

"Answering a question with a question. That is fair enough. As I cannot imagine our meeting to be a simple coincidence...I shall tell you. This is the Great Plateau. According to legend, this is the birthplace of the entire kingdom of Hyrule." The old man slowly rose from his spot and pointed at a decaying building, a little ways off. "That temple there...Long ago, it was the site of many sacred ceremonies. Ever since the decline of the kingdom 100 years ago, it has sat abandoned, in a state of decay. Yet another forgotten entity. A mere ghost of its former self…I shall be here for some time. Please let me know if I may be of service."

Link nodded at the old man and took off down the hill. The world was so beautiful. He decided he was going to explore some more, maybe wait to see if his voice would come back. The old temple seemed like a good place to visit. Maybe he can seek refuge there later that day.

It was on his way over to the temple when he was encountered with that voice once more.

"..." It mumbled. "Link…" Link looked around, trying to figure out who was talking. "Link. Head for the point marked on the map in your Sheikah Slate." Link, confused as ever, raised the Sheikah Slate to his face. He noticed a small yellow dot a little bit away from his current location. He looked ahead to see if he could find what the yellow dot may be. That's when he saw another one of those pedestals, surrounded by rock. He looked at his slate, and then back at the rock.

He knew what he had to do.


	2. Plateau Exodus

_Summary between chapters: Last time we saw Link, he had just awoken from a mysterious slumber. It has been three days since we last saw him, and he has gone through a considerable amount in such a small time span. He had to relearn how to fight, protect himself, climb, and most importantly: eat. After conquering all four shrines, he prayed to the Goddess Hylia in exchange for increased stamina to aid him in combat and exploration._

 _He now stands in front of King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, who was the Old Man who guided Link along the entire journey._

"Go on...Here is the paraglider, just as I promised." King Rhoam said. He handed it over to our hero, Link. Link looked at it with a wild expression of excitement. He had just been handed a coveted piece of equipment that will make his future exploration a breeze. "With that, you should be able to safely fly off the cliffs surrounding this area. And...I think that's it. I've told you everything I can…" At this point, King Rhoam began to fade away, startling Link. The only person he'd met in 100 years, and he was basically disintegrating before his eyes. "Link…You must save...Hyrule…" And with that, King Rhoam was gone. Link sat against the wall in the tower he was in, catching his breath.

Link had been through a lot these last couple of days. He essentially searched the entire Great Plateau high and low looking for shrines and various pieces of equipment to help him in his quest for survival and his attempts to return to Hyrule. With the help of the Old Man, King Rhoam, Link was now dressed in a Warm Doublet, in a lovely green and dirty white color. He had also found a pair of Hylian pants in a treasure chest near the Temple of Time, allowing him to dress in almost normal attire.

In terms of equipment, Link was now equipped with a Traveler's Sword and a Wooden Shield. He had also found a Traveler's Bow in the Temple of Time, and after the last three days, he had about fifteen arrows in his quiver. Link could easily carry a few more weapons, but he decided to keep it simple and relearn his basics. His five runes also provided him with more options in battle and exploration.

He had also learned how to cook, and had a few baked apples and some meat he had stolen from Bokoblins. If the last three days had taught him anything, it was that food was essential to his being. He loved food. He also had a love for cooking. He had found an empty journal in the Old Man's house behind the Temple, and had decided to use it for jotting down recipes.

With all his bearings together, Link looked at the time. It was about 12:30 P.M. Plenty of light left in the day to keep on exploring. _Impa…_ He thought to himself. Using the Temple's tower as a vantage point, he looked across the land, hoping to find more Sheikah Towers. There were several, and he had a desire to explore them all, but one caught his attention. North East of where he currently was stood a tower, and it appeared to contain the region map that included Impa's location. _I will seek out Impa._ Link decided.

But first...the paraglider. He had actually never used it before, nor did he notice how King Rhoam was using it. He approached the edge of the tower, and looked down. He had suffered a nasty drop during his second day of exploration, and had become all too familiar with gravity. He knew the fall from this height would kill him. Almost no question. Link looked down and around, contemplating on whether he should jump and test out the paraglider or climb down and be safe.

Taking a deep breath, he took a leap of faith and immediately pulled on the paraglider. His descent slowed down remarkably, and he felt himself being able to manipulate which way he would float. He gently floated to the ground, amazed at how safe the whole ordeal was. His arms were a little sore, however, but within a few minutes it was all back to normal.

He approached the edge of the Great Plateau. Below him stood a vast green land filled with trees, tall grass and various man-made objects. Dead ahead of him was the tower containing his desired regional data. He pulled out the slate and aimed it straight at the tower, placing a marker directly on it. With everything set, he jumped. He began to glide through the air, in awe at everything around him. He hadn't had a view this good in a long time...

 _Link stood right outside Hyrule's Sanctum, where he served as a guard for the King of Hyrule, Rhoam himself. He had been a guard since he was 15, and had been training since he was 10. This position meant the world to him. With his father gone and mother ill, this job was the only thing keeping his family afloat._

 _As he stood guard, a girl about his age exited the sanctum. Link could tell she was frustrated, but he had no idea what she was upset about. As she was leaving, she accidentally bumped right into Link, which caused her to turn around and lash out. "Excuse you! I am trying to leave, I don't need you in the way."_

" _Excuse me, Princess." Link replied, kneeling on one knee and bowing. "I was just-"_

" _Just in the way. I know." She replied. Link looked up at her face expecting anger, but instead he found her face beautiful as ever, but conflicted. She was being eaten up by something, but he wasn't sure. After her response, she turned and left, being followed by some white-haired lady. Her bodyguard, probably._

 _As the two left, Link stood back up and resumed his position. From here, he began to daydream, looking out at the vast fields of Hyrule, in all of its green beauty, from the tall grass, to the trees, to the man-made objects…_

Link was interrupted when he absent mindedly landed in a tree. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even pay attention to where he was going. After climbing back down, he looked back at his map. To his dismay, gliding didn't cover near as much distance as he had hoped. There was no issue with walking, it just took up his time.

It was about 10 when he came upon a small Bokoblin encampment, right in front of a ledge leading to the tower. He took a minute to run through his options. He could wait until they all fell asleep, sneak past them and climb the tower. He could snipe them with his bow one by one until they were all dead. He could just jump in wielding his sword and try to outmaneuver them. Or perhaps he could skip them entirely and just climb from the base of the tower, located in the river right next to them.

Link thought it over for a minute and decided to merge two of his plans together. He sat in the bushes and waited until each Bokoblin fell asleep. There were three red bokoblins and a blue colored one. Once all four were asleep, he took action. He snuck his way over, sword drawn, and silently sliced the red bokoblins. The first two went peacefully, with almost no noise, but the third one managed to make some noise. It appeared that he wasn't completely asleep yet, or at least in a deep sleep. With all three red bokoblins dead, it was now Link vs. the Blue Bokoblin.

The Blue bokoblin jumped to his feet and grabbed the Boko Club. As he took a swing at Link, Link ducked and sliced at the Bokoblin. He was stunned, and didn't move for a second, allowing Link to follow up with a series of slashes. Link finished the combo with a strong upper slash, sending the Bokoblin flying backwards. Link assumed the Bokoblin was done, but as he turned around to leave he bonked Link right on the head, causing him to drop his sword.

Link scrambled for his sword, but before he could grab it he was hit straight in the face with the club again. Link tumbled on the ground for a minute, trying to get a grip on his situation. The Bokoblin took this time to gloat, as if he had already won. Link used this to his advantage, however, and immediately drew his bow. He rolled on his back and fired an arrow, hoping to land a hit. The Bokoblin was pierced in his arm, causing him to stumble back in pain and drop his club.

Link grabbed the club and proceeded to beat the blue Bokoblin with it, over and over, not letting up until he was sure he wasn't moving again. Link looked at the club, liking its brutal power, but threw it away in favor of his own Traveler's Sword. Finally, with all four Bokoblins dead, Link began to scale the tower. It wasn't long before Link was at the top, where he placed his slate and downloaded the regional map.

It appeared he was on top of the Dueling Peaks tower. Fitting, considering right behind him were two very similar mountains staring each other down. He read his map once more, blown away by the level of detail presented in the slate. That's when he realized Impa was at the tip of this region, which would take him at least another day tops to get there. Exhausted, he placed a fire nearby and laid down next to it. With a map of the area, finding Impa would be a breeze.


	3. Dueling Peaks

_Summary between chapters: After waking up on top of the Dueling Peaks Tower, Link surveys the land, realizing that on his way to the tower he missed a few shrines. He spent a day backtracking, going to the Bosh Kala shrine and the Wahgo Katta shrine. He stopped for an early dinner at the Riverside stable. Near sundown, Link made his way into the Dueling Peaks Canyon, discovering a third shrine for that day: the Ree Dahee shrine. Upon completion, Link was awarded with the Climber's Bandana, which magically enhanced his climbing abilities. He currently has it tied to his arm to help with arm strength, but his Sheikah Slate tells him that its intended use was as headwear. Still, he could immediately tell a difference with this bandana._

 _Our story picks up with Link. It is about 9 at night, and he hopes to find a stopping point soon._

The night was fast approaching, and Link was exhausted. Three shrines in a day sure did tire him out, as did fighting various groups of Bokoblins. He had no idea how plentiful they were out in the wild. This fact worried him. With so many Bokoblin settlements, it seemed like it would be difficult to live a normal life out here. This was further backed up by the fact that there were very few people at the Riverside stable. In fact, most everyone there seemed experienced in battle, as if they were the only ones who could make it that far.

Link was very excited to get to Kakariko Village now. It was hard for him to imagine a town full of people. Luckily, his imagination didn't have to push itself too much. As he exited the Dueling Peaks Canyon, he came across a beautiful open area. Straight ahead of him was a small bridge that lead to the right, over the river. Beyond that was a forest of some sort. To his left was, to his surprise, a shrine. But once he focused, he realized there was so much more.

The Sheikah Slate vibrated on his side, prompting him to take a look. It deemed the area they were currently at the "Dueling Peaks Stable." However, it was not just a stable. Lined along the road were several different buildings, varying in size and structure. Near the shrine, partially in the water, appeared to be some sort of smithing building. Link decided to check that out first, seeing as it looked pretty neat, but he was soon stopped by an arrow to the feet.

"Stop! Who goes there?" Shouted a woman, bow drawn, aimed directly at Link. "It's after curfew!" She stood atop a guard tower on the other side of the road. Link was caught way off guard, not expecting anyone to confront him like this.

"...Link!" Was all he could muster. He still couldn't talk well, despite being awake for four or five days now.

"Where did you come from?" The woman shouted back.

"..." Link couldn't really think of anything to say. He instead just pointed behind him to the canyon.

"Are you a traveler, then?"

"Yes!" Link said enthusiastically. There was a moment of silence, where Link stood and did nothing while the lady turned and spoke quietly to another guard at the base of the tower.

"Please turn in your weapons for the night. You can have them back in the morning." The woman explained. The second guard, an older man, waved Link over and confiscated him of his Traveler's Sword and Bow.

"You can keep the shield." The man smiled. "Safety, you know." Link felt uneasy about giving up his sword, but then he remembered he had his bomb runes to give him help. Link, now free to go, decided to investigate the smithing shop, while the older man picked up the arrow and walked to a building close to the tower, presumably some sort of storage building, where he put Link's weapons.

The smithing shop was, at the moment, closed, but the structure amazed Link. To the right was an actual building, probably where the blacksmith lived, and to the left was an open work space. It had a little set of stairs leading into the water, where they probably dipped hot iron and weapons to cool down. Since it was closed, Link decided to find somewhere to sleep for the night, but hoped to revisit in the morning.

Across the road from the smithing shop was the Dueling Peaks Stable. Link wandered inside and asked to sleep in a bed. That's when he was stopped once more. "For a regular bed, it'll be 20 rupees." The attendant said.

" _Rupees…?"_ Link thought to himself. He strained his mind for a minute before remembering exactly what a rupee was. It was currency. Money. It was also something he didn't have. Distraught, Link told the stable keeper that he had no rupees. That's when, from behind, Link was startled by a man carrying a humongous backpack. He had a little flap he pulled down, making a small desk for himself.

"Hi there! I don't believe I've ever made your acquaintance! My name is Beedle! Not to be confused with Beetle!" The man sporadically said. "I wander all around Hyrule selling goods! AND buying goods! I'll happily take a few things off of you so you can have enough rupees to spend the night."

Link, taking Beedle up on the offer, sifted through his inventory. He had some gems, random bits of food, and some monster parts. Ultimately, Link decided to sell Beedle a piece of amber. With the money from that, Link had enough money to spend the night and had some leftover for later. "Thank you! Please come again!" Beedle happily announced.

After paying to spend the night, Link walked over to one of the normal beds and laid his shield right next to him. As he got ready for bed, however, one of the people next to his bed was writing frantically in a book, muttering to himself, "Tonight...tonight…"

Link stared at him for a second before he was caught staring by him. "What are you looking at?" The man asked sternly. "My name is Hino. I'm writing in my journal to document the Blood Moon." Link continued to stare, confused as to what the man was talking about.

"...blood?" Link asked.

"Blood Moon." Hink replied. "It's a nasty phase of our moon. It's been happening every couple of weeks for the last several decades." He then got out of bed and approached Link, showing him in great detail notes about the Blood Moon. "It comes and goes randomly, but I get a gut feeling when it's coming that has never failed me. It's coming tonight." Hino then slammed the book shut, almost in a random bout of anger.

"I want to research it tonight but this stupid village is under tight watch." Hino explained. "A few days ago, a band of thieves stormed in and robbed a bunch of people. Even kidnapped the mayor's son." He shook his head and turned to leave. "Those damned thieves. They are going to set me back at least two weeks." As he walked back to his bed, Hino bid Link goodnight and laid down, continuing to write sporadically in his notebook.

Link realized now why the town had such a tense feeling to it. Thieves were causing trouble. Without any real reason, Link felt obligated to help, as if it was his duty. With this strong feeling of responsibility, Link planned to visit the mayor tomorrow in order to offer assistance. The least he could do would be to help the town out. Maybe he could even find the mayor's son. But for now, Link decided to get some rest. He needed to be fully rested if he wanted to help.

About an hour and a half later, as Link lay deep in his sleep, something odd began to happen. Small particles began to float around the stable, slowly increasing in both size and numbers. The room began to change color, evolving from a simple beige to crimson. Link began to toss and turn in his sleep, sweat forming on his face. The sky outside began to fly by at an unbelievably fast rate. It was painted with blood.

"..." A muffled voice echoed in his dreams. "...Link…" It was that voice again. _Zelda_. "Link…" Link began to shiver, his body now cold, as if it was dead. "Be on your guard," The voice beckoned. "Ganon's power grows...it rises to its peak under the house of the blood moon." This voice was accompanied by a vision. The vision was of the horrifying monster that engulfed Hyrule Castle, swarming around under the Blood Moon. It changed to show a camp that Link had recently been to, one that was filled with Bokoblins.

Darkness soon enveloped the campsite, giving birth to identical monsters, all held up by the neck. They looked like corpses, almost puppet like, being suspended in the air. The bodies were soon let go, being filled with life. "By its glow, the aimless spirits of monsters slain in the name of the light return to flesh." Monsters from several different camps now appeared in the vision, all coming back from the dead. "Link...please be careful." Zelda begged. As Link lay in bed, near paralyzed with fear, he was overcome with another vision, this time one of his past.

" _Link...it's okay to be scared." A hylian woman said. Link, about seven, sat on this woman's lap, laying against her stomach. He was crying. Earlier that day, some older kids found Link playing knight outside. Trying to be funny, the kids challenged Link to a fight. When Link said no, the kids proceeded to fight him, beating him with various sticks and branches they had lying around. After beating him, they mocked him for trying to be a knight, and said if they ever saw him playing again they'd fight him again._

" _Courage is something that not many kids have." She continued. "Link...you tried to peacefully resolve a situation when tougher kids wanted to fight. It may not work for you like that in the future...but for now, that takes more courage than fighting back." Link continued to sob, obviously upset and scared. "You keep playing knight, Link. Maybe one day you can even become one." This got Link to stop crying, and he looked up toward her face. "In fact, I can try to get you lessons with one of my friends. But you have to know one thing, Link. Being a knight is one of the most courageous things you can ever do..._

" _But knights still get scared."_

Link launched from his bed, sitting upright within a split second. He was drenched with sweat, and he was freezing. He looked around, as if he couldn't recognize where he was. He thought he was with some woman, in a house somewhere else. Did he have a dream? Why did she seem so familiar to him? Confused as ever, Link lay back down, staring at the ceiling. He wanted to know who that woman was so bad.

After a few minutes, Link forced himself to go to bed. The questions were eating him up, but he knew he had something more important to worry about for tomorrow. Tomorrow he was going to help the village of Dueling Peaks.

* _Author's note: Sorry that not many of these things are really detailed descriptions, as well as a delayed release. I hope it was still enjoyable. I'm looking forward to the next chapter._


	4. Little Cave in the Woods

_Summary between chapters: Link has just woken up for the day. It is about 5 A.M. After preparing for the day, he heads over to the armory, where his sword and bow are currently being held. There, he encounters the female guard who had stopped him last night._

Link was groggy, despite his best efforts. He had tried to sleep as much as he could, but with the blood moon and his...dream, if that's what you can call it, he couldn't really stay down for too long. But now he was ready to take on the day and explore Dueling Peaks. Along the way he also hoped to find the mayor, who could explain to him what all had happened. For now, though, he was at the armory, which was close to Big Twin Bridge.

"Link, right?" The woman called out to him. Link grunted in approval. She brought out a traveler's sword and bow to him, just as he had left it. "I'm sorry we got off on such a bad note. It's not very common we ever get a traveler who shows up at night. Most people settle down in the day around 6." As Link geared up, the woman looked him up and down, as if she was getting a read on him. Link, not sure what to do, did the same.

She was a Hylian woman, a little shorter than him, with brown hair rolled up into a bun. She also had some blue-green eyes, which Link seemed interested by. She was wearing an armored chestplate that had a hylian logo on it and pants similar to Link's, although they were black. "I'm Celia. And, obviously, you're Link." She chuckled. "What brings you to Dueling Peaks?"

"Kakariko." Link replied. She seemed to nod in understanding.

"Yeah, that's fair. Most people who swing by are just travelers, either going to Kakariko or Hateno. Sometimes we just get wanderers, exploring the land." She turned to look down the road, surveying their small village. "Merchants really help keep this place going. They come by, keep us stocked up on goods, and spend their money at our bar and stable. Backbone of the economy, really." She laughed again. "Anything I can help you with?"

"Mayor?" Link asked. She seemed a little caught off guard.

"Oh, uh...I mean, sure, but...huh. Most people ask for the shop or bar. Why do you want the mayor?" Celia responded. Link thought for a minute, trying to make a sentence, but all he could muster was 'thieves'. Celia was really shocked with that response. "What about them?"

"I'll stop them." Link stated. At this point, Celia was growing impatient. How was an outsider who could barely talk take down an entire group of thieves? Celia was about to tell him to get lost when she caught something. Something in his face, his eyes, let her get a glimpse at his desire to help. He wasn't kidding.

"You know...alright. Let's go to the mayor's office." Celia said. "Follow me." From there, she led Link past the shrine, which he quickly marked on his slate to return to, and into a little indention on the side of the mountain, passing the blacksmith's building and a couple of residential buildings as well. There was a rather large two story building. Out front there was a podium and a sort of small arena, set up for public speaking events. Celia led them both past that area and inside, where they found the mayor sitting at his desk, slumped down and shaking his head.

"Uh…" Celia tried to speak, but was soon interrupted.

"Oh! Celia! Sorry my dear, I didn't notice you!" The mayor exclaimed. He stood up and moved to the center of the room to shake hands. He struggled to move, as his leg appeared to be harmed, and he was using a walking stick. He was a rather large man, wearing a blue Hylian vest and wearing brown pants. He had black-gray hair and a beard to match. He even had a scar running across his left cheek, but it wasn't that noticeable. "My name is Norman, and I am the mayor of Dueling Peaks." He explained, shaking Link's hand. Link shook back, but was caught off guard by how strong the handshake was. The largeness was not from fat, but from muscle, it seemed. "Celia, any updates?"

"None right now, sir." She replied. "But I have someone willing to help." She explained, motioning to Link.

"Really? Is that so?" Norman responded. "Why help us? Do you want something in return? Money?"

"Just...want to help." Link sputtered. Norman just stared at Link, getting a good read on him.

"Listen, I'm glad you're willing to help, but this is serious. The Toru's lost their entire savings, the armory lost some weapons, and...well, my son was taken." Norman muttered.

"Link is willing to get them back for us." Celia interrupted. "And I'll be glad to go with him and help him. This seems like a good two person job."

"Celia, you know I'm not comfortable sending you. We're already spread thin on guard duty until Ken and Archie get back from Hateno." Norman said. "Without you, we only have Lou and Tom, and Tom is getting ready to retire."

"Norman, trust us. Please. We know where they are. We can get the drop on them. They already know we're hesitant about attacking...they know we're short staffed." Celia replied. "If we do attack, they won't be expecting it." Norman turned and looked at a map that was plastered on the wall. It was just a map of the area, but down south, past the Big Twin Bridge in the Hickaly Woods, there was a star stamped on. After a second of silence, Norman turned and looked at Link once more, this time realizing the thing hanging on Link's hip: a Sheikah Slate. Norman knew then that Link was no ordinary wanderer.

"Link...I have no right to ask you this. You just came to this town and owe us nothing. But if you're willing to help, please let Celia join you and guide you to Hickaly Woods. There, in the side of the mountain on the south end of the woods, you'll find the entrance to an abandoned mine. You'll have to go in with Celia and either steal everything-and everyone-back, or just wipe the thieves out. If possible, you should try to capture them and bring them back. We can hold them in jail. Use them to do labor for a few years, or some other form of punishment. Maybe we'll just drop them off in Hyrule field, see if they survive! Haha!" Norman laughed, but quickly sobered up. "Link, please bring back my son. He's only a boy. He must be so scared."

Link nodded, understanding everything that he was told, and turned to leave. Celia followed with him, and once outside, Celia stopped him. "So, Link, real question. What do you want in exchange for helping us? A horse? Money? Weapons?"

Link just shook his head. "Just want to help." Link repeated again. Looking at his Sheikah Slate and marking the point on his map, Link began walking south. Celia was a bit hesitant at first, confused by what exactly Link was up to, but soon cut in front of him and began leading him to Hickaly Woods.

It was about 10:45 when they arrived at Hickaly. They had stopped by the armory and geared themselves up to attack. Link was now wearing a Hylian tunic, similar to the mayor's, but this time in a red color. It wasn't much, but the extra fabric and padding around the torso and arms offered a small defensive boost. They both also got more arrows, and Celia armed herself with a reinforced emblazoned shield (a normal wooden emblazoned shield, but with a metal skeleton, offering extra sturdiness and durability) and her own sword which she called the Wanderer's Sword (it was a traveler's sword, but sharpened and reinforced with stronger metals to increase its durability and offensive capabilities). Link was still armed with his traveler's sword and wooden shield, but he didn't really seem to mind.

Now at the south end of the woods, the duo found themselves in front of a mining shaft, leading into the heart of the mountain. After a second of brief hesitation, Celia lit her torch and began marching into the shaft. Link, sword drawn, followed her in. The shaft went on for a good hundred meters before they came across an opening. It opened up into larger cave area, prime for a hideout. They both looked around, surveying the area. To their left was a small waterfall rushing down from a small landing, which ran all across the ground in front of them and into a small reservoir on the right.

"Gosh, this is a neat place." Celia said. "Never been here before. But this is pretty creepy as w-" before she could continue, she cut herself off. It was almost dead silence, save for the rushing waterfall. Suddenly, a break in the silence. They both continued listening, when Celia abruptly raised her sword and whispered to Link,

"I hear footsteps."


	5. Group Genesis

She was right. Link could hear the footsteps as well, which prompted him to raise his own sword. They took a second to focus in on the sound before realizing that it was coming from the landing on the left. Quietly, they moved over to the landing and observed, putting out their torch so they wouldn't draw attention. The landing lead to another open area, which was equipped with some beds and chests. Across the way was also a fire pit, which someone was using for cooking. Aside from the cook, there were two other people, chilling on their beds. One was reading, while another sharpened his sword.

Celia surveyed the room, looking for something to help them in case of a fight, when she noticed the opening on the right side of the room. She nudged Link on his side and motioned her head toward the opening. Link understood and began to walk along with Celia across their own room. Once on the other side, the two came to a rock corridor that seemed to bend to the left, obviously leading them to the thieves' room. With no real other option, Celia and Link walked out into the room.

For a second, the thieves didn't even notice. The cook was very concentrated on his dish, and the other two were lost in their own activities. Quickly, though, the thief sharpening his sword looked up and freaked out. He dropped his sharpening tool and raised his sword, while screaming for the other two thieves. The other two quickly jumped too, but neither had a weapon.

"I'll make it easy-hand over everything and surrender or we'll attack." Celia commanded. Link was slightly caught off guard by her voice. She had been very nice to him ever since he met her, but this was a new side he hadn't seen before.

"It's three versus two, idiot." The thief with the sword, still shaking, stated. "We spent weeks gathering this loot. We earned it." Celia and the thief went back and forth, yelling about the stolen loot, when Link interrupted.

"The son." He said. Everyone was surprised to hear him speak. It was a quiet voice, but one that echoed with seriousness. The three thieves looked at each other, the one with the sword now visibly distraught.

"We...hm…" He tried to speak up. Link had intimidated him. Using this fear, Link took a step forward.

"Where?"

"We...we are holding him for ransom!" The thief finally exclaimed. "10,000 rupees! Nothing less!" As he exclaimed this, the other two thieves managed to find weapons. The cook had a giant butcher's knife, while the reader had picked up a boko club.

"You know we don't have that much money lying around. Especially when you robbed everyone!" Celia shouted. "Link, enough with this, take them out!"

With this, the fight began. Link jumped forward toward the thief with the sword and immediately engaged in combat, while Celia slashed at the cook. The cook dodged and tried jabbing with his knife, but Celia's armor stopped him from penetrating her skin. Link, on the other hand, quickly overpowered the thief. While blocking a slash, Link parried and kicked him straight in the gut, causing him to double over. Link then knocked the sword out of his hand and knocked him out with the hilt of his sword.

Celia, still engaged in combat with the cook, was also dodging and slashing at the reader. The cook nearly got a good slash at her throat when Link jump slashed his arm, leaving a giant gash, forcing him to drop his knife. Celia soon delivered a full body diagonal slash, sending the cook back a ways and into the wall, where he lay defeated.

The two looked at the thief holding the club, who immediately dropped it and fell to his knees. "Please don't hurt me! I give up! I just didn't want to look like a weakling in front of those two!" He shrieked. Celia laughed at him before kicking the club away from him.

"The son?" Link asked. The thief slowly stood up, nodding his head.

"This way…" he said, walking over to a section of the wall. "It's a fake." He explained, pushing on it. The section of the wall he pushed on slung open, exposing another large room. This one was filled with more chests of loot, a desk, and a bed. On the bed lay a boy, about twelve years old, with his hands tied behind his back. "We didn't hurt him, I swear." The thief said.

"For your sake, I hope he isn't hurt." Celia said. Celia immediately ran to the kid and began untying him when she noticed his mouth was also covered. When she fixed that, the kid began to sob.

"Celia, I'm so scared." The kid cried. "I wanna be home."

"It's okay buddy." She said, holding him. "We got you."

By the end of the day, everything was almost wrapped up. The thieves were taken back to town and thrown into the town's prison-it was small, only meant to house four people at once, but luckily no one else was in their prison. Celia and Link, along with a handful of happy villagers, brought all of the stolen goods and loot back to Dueling Peaks.

The mayor was so happy to be reunited with his son that he threw a feast for Celia and Link, dubbing them the heroes of their village. Celia was happy with this recognition, but Link was slightly uncomfortable, in typical humble hero fashion. At the feast, Link was presented with one of the finest pieces of equipment that the town had: a boomerang. Link at first was kind of confused as he held it, but soon he remembered what this item was. In fact, it was one of his favorite pieces of weaponry. The boomerang was a standard wooden boomerang, but the metal built around the center and tips gave it an extra boost in both durability and attack power.

As the festivities kept going into the night, Link snuck off to be alone for a minute. He was out behind the stable, sitting down and looking up at the stars while playing around with the boomerang. It was a nice and relaxing night, and he finally felt like he was able to be at rest ever since he started his journey. After a few minutes, Celia popped in.

"Hey Link, why'd you leave?" She asked. She was no longer in her armor but in normal Hylian clothes. She seemed to be at ease as well, and was enjoying the night being paraded as a hero.

"I wanted to look." He said, motioning to the stars. Celia looked up too, admiring it, but she wasn't as entranced as Link was.

"It's just a sky." She said, taking a seat next to Link. "You can see it any night. But you can't party every night, haha!" She laughed. Link smiled, but kept looking up.

"It's been awhile since I've seen it." He said. Celia was amazed at how long he spoke. He mostly just answered in gruff, short worded responses. She could tell this meant something to him.

"Where are you from?" Celia asked.

"Hyrule." He answered.

"Well, duh, I meant specifically. Hateno? Kakariko?" Celia asked again. Link was confused about why she didn't understand him, but then he remembered that he isn't in his time. He is 100 years past that.

"The castle..." He trailed off.

"Stop playing, if you didn't want to answer you could have just said you didn't want to answer." Celia half joked, but was also disappointed that she wasn't getting an answer.

"No...seriously." Link began to explain. "I…" He stopped. He didn't really have an explanation. All he knew was that 100 years ago, he lived in the Castle, and then he died, and then he was resurrected. "...resurrected...100 years ago…"

"What?" Celia asked with great confusion. "So what are you trying to do that was so important if you were 'resurrected'?" She asked, air quoting 'resurrected'.

"Help Zelda…" Link said.

"Wait." Celia stopped Link dead in his tracks. She looked him over, focusing intently, before staring at his face. Suddenly, she realized. "Holy crap! You're THE Link!"

"Yes?" Link half answered.

"Like, the royal guard Link! The Link who fought with the other champions!" Celia suddenly stood up, almost too excited to contain herself. "And then when you all died-sorry, no offense-you got taken to the Shrine of Resurrection! The Sheikah in Kakariko have told us this story so many times! I never believed them! I've even seen royal portraits where you were in them, and I thought to myself, 'there's no way he's in some shrine somewhere! He is probably dead'-again, no offense." Celia said. "I can't believe this! The hero himself!"

"Not a hero…" Link began.

"Nonsense! The way you acted today, volunteering to help complete strangers, taking out the thieves so easily-" She exclaimed, "-and the fact that you can hardly talk and seem so lost! It makes so much sense!"

Link was very flattered, but her praise only seemed to worsen his own feelings. If he was half the hero she seemed excited about, he wouldn't have died and left Hyrule like this. "Thanks, but…"

"What are you going to do?" Celia interrupted. "Your plan 100 years ago to awaken the divine beasts didn't seem to work. Are you still trying to defeat the Calamity? Are you going to save Zelda first? Are you going to get the divine beasts going, or are you going straight for Ganon? Do you need help?" Link just stared at her, almost overwhelmed with all the questions. "Sorry, sorry, I got excited. I think you've had a big enough day. I'll leave you alone." And with that, Celia took off, leaving Link to himself again. Link simply slumped his head down, staring at the ground, confused as always. How many people knew who he was? How many people know of his failure 100 years ago?

At 7 the next morning, Link had gathered up all of his equipment and prepared to head out. He had his traveler's sword, shield, boomerang, and a few extra pieces of food the villagers gave to him as a sign of thanks. After saying goodbye to the mayor, he tried to find Celia and give her a farewell. However, she was nowhere to be seen. She wasn't at the prison, the guard tower or the armory. Link nearly gave up looking for her when she bust out of one of the houses, carrying a large backpack and wearing her armor.

"Link! I'm glad I caught you before you could go." She said, approaching him. "Link, I have been training for years to be a grand explorer and a heroic knight of some sorts, since there are hardly any knights in this world anymore. I was beginning to resign myself to the fact that I'd be stuck here as a guard forever, until you came along. If you'll have me, I'd be honored to serve by you and fight our way to Calamity Ganon. I want to help you be the hero of legend." As Celia explained all this, she knelt before Link, presenting this proposal.

Link smiled at her, happy to have a friend come along, but as still unsure. "The mayor?"

"I talked it over with him last night. He said that since the thieves were captured, I would be allowed to leave since we didn't need strict guarding." Celia stated.

With everything seemingly taken care of, Link nodded, approving of Celia's proposal to join. The duo then began their next big journey: north, to Kakariko Village.

 _Author's note: sorry this took so much longer than normal. Got busy and was struggling to find direction for this chapter. I'm not too thrilled with how it came out, but I hope it gets the job done._


End file.
